Chris Granger / The Times-PicayuneFormer LSU tract star Lolo Jones is a champion, even though she did not win the gold medal was expected to get at the Olympics.

Lolo Jones didn't get the gold medal she was expected to win in the 100-meter hurdles in Beijing.

At heartbreaking speed Tuesday, Ms. Jones clipped the ninth hurdle, stumbled across the finish line in 7th place and fell to the track in disbelief.

Hundreds of athletes at the Olympics fall short of a medal or fail to live up to their own or their fans' expectations. But Ms. Jones, who ran track at LSU, had battled back from what could have been the end of her track career when she fell at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Going into Tuesday's race, she was the fastest woman hurdler in the world. She was ahead of the pack with two hurdles to go.

Then it was over.

But despite what must have been a devastating disappointment, she was gracious in defeat, stopping for a trackside TV interview and pausing to congratulate one of the medalists.

At age 25, Ms. Jones has overcome great adversity in her life. She made it through a stretch of homelessness as a child and financially tough times during college and after the 2004 Trials.

After winning at this year's Trials, she donated her $4,000 prize money to a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, family who had lost their home in this summer's floods. She has not only excelled at her sport, she has carried herself with grace.